Demystifying San Francisco’s Green Building Proposal The chairman of the mayor’s Green Building Task Force answers some frequently asked questions By Phil WilliamsI n March 2007, Mayor Gavin Newsomconvened a Green Building Task Force to assess how the city could update its building standards to meet aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets. !e recommendations, which arecurrently under review by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, include the goal of having most commercial developments achieve a LEED Gold rating or higher by 2012. !ere are many myths andmisconceptions about this pending green building legislation, and as the chairman of the task force, I would like to take this opportunity to properly inform people about the issue. Here, I answer a number of questions that I have received about the Green Building Proposal, and I attempt to demystify the notions that may be confusing. There is growing demand from the public for action, and city governments can typically act faster than their state and federal counterparts. Why does San Francisco need a Green Building ordinance? ! e need to improve the energy efficiency,water usage and interior environment of buildings becomes clear when you consider that buildings consume between 40 to 55 percent of the energy we use as a country, and most people spend more than 70 percent of their time in those buildings. !ereis also growing demand from the public for action, and city governments can typically act faster than their state and federal counterparts. A plan that is well-researched and written by local building professionals, and which takes a progressive, yet feasible approach to the situation, makes much more sense than waiting for a program to be authored by other groups on a state or national level. Energy is not likely to get cheaper, nor is the city likely to find new sources of quality water, so now is the time to act. I’ve seen the term eco-tough used to describe this ordinance. How achievable are the new requirements? ! e ordinance is designed to phase-in over fouryears. Beginning in the initial year of the program (2008), only new commercial buildings greater than 25,000 square feet will have to meet the minimum LEED rating under the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification system. For small to mid-size residential projects, the first year is an orientation year, with no mandated measures required. Over the next four years, the requirements for commercial projects will increase to higher levels. Will these standards make it too expensive to build in San Francisco? No. One of the greatest myths about sustainable (green) buildings is that they cost significantly more to build. Current documented construction costs now range from nearly zero percent to the very low single digits for the basic level of LEED certification. Success depends on developing a plan, having good team members and making smart choices early in the design process. Quality products and experienced subcontractors are now available with little to no premium. !e LEED program has beenin use for almost 10 years, and the days when you couldn’t get materials or trade workers with green building experience are in the past. Wouldn’t it be better for San Francisco to develop its own sustainable rating system? ! e task force came to the unanimousconclusion that using established, well-defined and proven criteria, such as the LEED and GPR systems, is the most e ffective way to proceed. !eserating systems are nationally recognized, respond to changing technology and conditions and allow building professionals and occupants to understand the process and the end product. It’s tough enough now to get good architects, engineers, builders and sub-contractors. Where are the consultants, designers and builders who know about these Green Building requirements? ! e very fact that the USGBC LEED and BuildIt Green GPR standards are mature and heavily influenced by professionals from the greater San Francisco Bay Area means there is no better place to find the right people to design and build green projects. Today, the definition of a high-quality building is becoming synonymous with a highperformance green building. !e two will soonbe synonymous, because green construction will become a normal way of doing things. How will the ordinance a ffect projects that arealready in the process of planning, permitting or construction? If a project has already applied for the site permit, is into Department of Building Inspection for permit check or is already under construction, it will not be a ffected by the ordinance.It already takes too long to get buildings permitted. How much extra time will this add to the design, permit, construction and TCO process? ! e ordinance was specifically designednot to add time to the process. !e use of thirdparty verification of green criteria removes the responsibility from the city’s Planning Department and Department of Building Inspections (DBI). How will Planning Department and Department of Building Inspections handle these new requirements? ! e task force that helped author the legislation iscurrently working with city departments to develop a simple and e ffective process for integrating theordinance within the existing permit framework. We envision a four-step process. 1) A completed LEED or GPR checklist, delineating the necessary number of credits, is submitted to the Planning Department along with the initial site permit request; 2) !e LEED or GPR checklist, and proof thatthe design information has been submitted for third party review, is included with the permit addenda containing the mechanical, electrical and plumbing designs; 3) Upon the Substantial Completion, the city receives verification that the balance of the documentation has been submitted for third party review; 4) !e project receives approval when the finalthird party verification is received. Are there third-party organizations, other than the US Green Building Council (LEED) and GreenPoint Raters (GPR), that can rate my project? Yes. To avoid forcing project teams to use proprietary groups for verification, equivalent third party verifiers are acceptable for rating and establishing criteria compliance. When is the ordinance likely to take e ffect?While no one can predict the future, it could realistically take e ffect by mid June or early July of thisyear. !e ordinance was submitted by the mayor tothe Board of Supervisors in December of 2007. !eboard addressed the ordinance in its Jan. 8 meeting and sent the measure to the Building and Inspection Commission and the Land Use Commission for review. !e ordinance is considered as legislation thatwould create or revise major city policy and therefore falls under Rule 5.40, also known as the 30-Day Rule. ! is means that the ordinance cannot be considereduntil at least 30 days after the date of its introduction. ! e ordinance could conceivably reach the Board ofSupervisors in March, and if adopted, take e ffect 90days after it is signed by the mayor. Which of my projects will be a ffected?! is is a comprehensive approach to buildingsin San Francisco. If a commercial project, new ground up, commercial interiors or an upgrade of an existing building is 25,000 square feet or greater, it is covered by this ordinance. For smaller projects between 5,000 and 25,000 square feet, the requirements will also take e ffect at the planningstage, however, those are limited and do not require third-party verification. !ey will be part of the DBIpermit review. |